(NaturalNews) Honey provides a natural sweetener that can be used instead of sugar. Honey is a whole food that comes from plant nectar and does not raise blood sugar as other simple sugars do. Honey also contains a variety of minerals and vitamins and has a long history as a healing food. Honey has been used as an antiseptic, antimicrobial, and antibiotic.

Antibiotic Honey Kills Germs
Honey has long been used for its antibiotic properties and research has now demonstrated the mechanism. In an article published in the Journal of the Federation of American Society for Experimental Biology, scientists explain that a protein made by the bees called defensin-1 is the active germ-killing ingredient in honey. The researchers postulate that honey may even be able to treat diseases and infections that are antibiotic resistant such as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).

NaturalNews) A white sweet potato extract from the Ipomoea batatas plant may cure diabetes, adding to other recent research showing blood sugar reducing benefits from coffee, the gingko tree, and nuts. Diabetes is at epidemic proportions but traditional medicine has used plants to treat this condition worldwide.

Sweet Potato Diabetes Research
Researchers are now studying the Ipomoea batatas plant, a traditional sweet potato remedy from the mountains of Japan. The white sweet potato has been used for centuries in Japan to treat high blood pressure, anemia and diabetes. The raw potatoes come from the Kagawa region of Japan, a mountainous region between Osaka and Hiroshima.